Unparalleled Desire

Chapter 4, part 1 Fifty Shades of Murder

Scarlett's expression darkened as I finished reading the words. She snatched the paper from my hand. "Extermino." She whispered angrily, and the note combusted in a pile of flames.

I grabbed her. "Wait! Why did you do that?! Oh my god. We have to call the police. What if they find out you destroyed—"

"They aren't going to find out because you aren't going to say anything."

"But Scarlett, they murdered an innocent young woman! I don't know anything about this "Order of the Clove" but it sounds like they are dangerous people. We need to let the—"

"No. I will call my parents and they will take care of it. The Order of the Clove isn't behind this. I promise."

I pulled out my cell phone. "Fuck that. I am calling the police and telling them what I saw." Scarlett lunged at me to grab the phone from my hands. The force knocked me over onto the pavement and suddenly she was on top of my trying to wrestle it from my fingers.

Tears filled Scarlett's eyes as she fought me. "Eva, please. Just give it to me! The order had no reason to kill Dora, she was one of us!" I stopped and stared at her. "One of us? Dora?" She snatched the phone from my hand and stood up. I climbed to my feet and dusted off my clothes. "What are you talking about?"

"Please just let me handle this Ivaylo. Please. Promise me you won't go to the police. At least until I can figure it out. Just trust me. Please." She placed her hand on mine. I sighed. Scarlett's blue eyes were filled with tears pleading. I could feel the anguish in her. I didn't detect any deceit, so I relented.

"Fine, I won't say anything. But can I at least have my phone back?" She handed it back to me. I stared anxiously at the body. "What are we going to do?"

She pulled out her phone. "I will call the Order and they will send someone to clean up the body. Not sure if you noticed the marks on her neck, but it looks like the work of vampires."

"Her name was Dora?"

"Yeah. I've known her since 4th grade. She was a member of the Order."

"What exactly is the Order?"

She glanced around wary of anyone who might be listening. The moon in the night sky cast an ominous grey light over us and the surrounding yard. It was so late that it was unlikely anyone else was awake. That didn't reassure Scarlett. "Now isn't the time. But I will explain. Soon. I promise."

That was the extent of the explanation I got from her. In the next moment she was on the phone. Not long after a group of individuals in black cloaks with their faces obscured appeared, materializing out of nowhere. Scarlett had ushered me back inside explaining how they would protect us from the attacker by casting a safety net around the duplex.

I had attempted multiple times to call the murder victim's spirit back to my room to question her but was unsuccessful. It was as though someone had forced her to move on.

I watched the hooded figures in our yard from bedroom window with Ghosty hovering over my shoulder. They removed the body, took down the vine growing over the garage and removed all traces of foul play. Uneasiness sat in the pit on my stomach.

"What did the note say?" He asked as I described the corpse we found and Scarlett's abnormal behavior.

"It said, 'Your presence is a gift. We are watching.' And it was signed the Order of the Clove. But Scarlett thinks they were framed."

"How well do you know this Scarlett?"

I thought back to when she and I had met through the roommate exchange program. I realized I only knew her a month longer than I had known Ghosty. I cleared my throat. "A while."

"Do you think she is behind it?"

"I don't think she has it in her to kill someone. Besides, why would she bother to show me the body?"

"Why won't she let you call the police?" He replied. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah but there were teeth marks. She said it looked like vampires."

"She could be a vampire."

"Ugh, I'm going to sleep." I slipped beneath my covers and turned away from him. I felt him sit down next to me and place his hand on my shoulder.

"I am worried about you. What if this order found out that you are the Qarinah—"

"Look, I'm just your typical, run of the mill empath that also happens to talk to ghosts. We're a dime a dozen. Please just let me go to sleep and leave me alone about this."

I pushed him off my bed and pretended to fall asleep. The images of the woman left in our driveway combined with the orgasmic screams from my bedroom earlier tormented me. I pulled the covers over my head and wept silently until pure exhaustion lulled me to sleep.

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